Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Brewster grades B overall, 282nd among New York's 745 graded towns. It is among the most walkable places in the country. It reports less crime per resident than 86% of U.S. towns. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $544K, 5.5 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. 21% of households own their home in Brewster, below both the New York town median (75%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). The biggest park or preserve is East Branch Outlet Unit, at 31 acres.
Where Brewster beats most towns.
Where Brewster’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Brewster is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 11%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 176 in 1860, a low of 176 in 1860, 2,508 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 6 maps from 1892 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brewster. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
28 mi LandmarkFerncliff Cemetery
11 mi LakeCandlewood Lake
29 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
18 mi Stadium & arenaMichie Stadium
35 mi Stadium & arenaYale BowlUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Ferncliff Cemetery: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Candlewood Lake: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Michie Stadium: John Pellino, Public domain · Yale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brewster, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Brewster.
Brewster is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has commutes shorter than most of New York and is safe by national standards but not by New York’s.
At 6.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 74% of New York’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 14 to 6 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Brewster’s property crime rate is 2.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Brewster | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.4 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The average commute for its 1,050 working residents takes 22.5 minutes, against 32.6 across New York. Jobs based here grew from 479 in 2013 to 675.
Most working residents leave Brewster for work: only 4% work in town. Since 2013, Brewster has added 196 jobs, to 675 in 2023. 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Brewster.
| Brewster | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.1% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,579 U.S. towns with household incomes like Brewster’s, it is healthier than 92%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Brewster beats the New York average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 15% of Brewster adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Brewster | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 5.9% | 8.1% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 21% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 34% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Brewster | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.5% | 7.7% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.6% | 3.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 15.4% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brewster.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Brewster has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0.0 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. East Branch Outlet Unit | — | 31 |
| 2. Wells Park | — | 11 |
| 3. John E. Markel Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median rent in Brewster is $1,657 a month. Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Brewster
About 8 of every 100 Brewster residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
7 notable people were born in Brewster.
Village in New York, United States
Brewster is a village and the principal settlement within the town of Southeast in Putnam County, New York, United States. The population was 2,508 at the 2020 census. The village, which is the most densely populated portion of the county, was named for two early farmer landowners, Walter and James Brewster, who donated land for the Brewster railroad station in 1848.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Brewster grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #282 of 745 in New York. It grades B+ for health, A for safety and C+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
Brewster was incorporated in 1894. 7 notable people were born here, including Fanny Crosby and Ava Fabian.
